When you are working your way up the career ladder, it’s easy to assume the skills that got you to where you are will be the ones to carry you forward. However, at certain transition points, some of your core competencies don’t provide the same level of value.
If your career has stagnated, focusing on the wrong strengths and trying to bolster them won’t ultimately help you succeed. Instead, this approach may cement the idea you are where you are meant to be, and that your capacity to be a top performer at the next level is limited.
The realization that not all skills are transferable skills is critical if you want to keep advancing. However, you also need to determine which core competencies are worth improving, as well as what new strengths are necessary if you’re going to continue up the career ladder. If you aren’t sure how to begin, here are some tips to get you started on your transferable skills.
Research Where You Want to Go
To create a solid plan that will get you where you want to go, you need to fully understand what skills are necessary to excel in that position. One easy place to start is to review the job description or any equivalent vacancy announcements and see what employers generally look for when hiring for that role.
If that information isn’t readily available and you are hoping to land a promotion at your current company, another option is to speak with your manager. You can let them know you are interested in moving up and find out what is required to take that next step.
The idea behind completing this research step is to see what core competencies are critical in your target position. Without these details, figuring out what to do next will be incredibly challenging.
Do an Honest Self Review
Once you have the information regarding what skills are needed to move up, you need to take an honest look at your strengths and core capabilities to determine whether they are lacking. Even if you are a top performer in your current role, you may realize you don’t have the necessary or minimum level of expertise in key areas to be considered a strong candidate for the next position on the career ladder.
If that is the case, it can be disheartening initially. However, it is also an opportunity, as you can now come up with a professional development strategy that allows you to acquire the necessary skills and experience to ensure you can move forward in your career. Consider your new knowledge to be a source of motivation, and use your dream of landing that target role inspire you to improve in ways that will benefit your career.
If you would like to learn more about how transferable your skills are or are currently seeking open jobs in CNY, the team at CPS Recruitment can help you explore your options. Contact us to speak with one of our skilled recruiters today and see how our professional expertise can benefit you.